| Title |
Van C. Sorensen, Mapleton, Utah: an interview by Winston Erickson and Benjamin Bahlmann, August 17th, 2001: Saving the legacy tape no. 288 and 289 |
| Alternative Title |
Van C. Sorensen, Saving the legacy: an oral history of Utah's World War II veterans, ACCN 2070, American West Center, University of Utah |
| Creator |
Sorensen, Van C., 1922-2007 |
| Contributor |
Erickson, Winston P., 1943-; University of Utah. American West Center |
| Publisher |
Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah |
| Date |
2001-08-17 |
| Date Digital |
2015-09-16 |
| Access Rights |
I acknowledge and agree that all information I obtain as a result of accessing any oral history provided by the University of Utah's Marriott Library shall be used only for historical or scholarly or academic research purposes, and not for commercial purposes. I understand that any other use of the materials is not authorized by the University of Utah and may exceed the scope of permission granted to the University of Utah by the interviewer or interviewee. I may request permission for other uses, in writing to Special Collections at the Marriott Library, which the University of Utah may choose grant, in its sole discretion. I agree to defend, indemnify and hold the University of Utah and its Marriott Library harmless for and against any actions or claims that relate to my improper use of materials provided by the University of Utah. |
| Spatial Coverage |
Marshall Islands; New Guinea; Philippines; China; Aurora, Sevier County, Utah, United States |
| Subject |
Sorensen, Van C., 1922-2007--Interviews; World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American; Veterans--Utah--Biography; World War, 1939-1945--Aerial operations, American; World War, 1939-1945--Campaigns--Pacific Area--Personal narratives, American |
| Keywords |
Topaz; Internment camps; PTSD |
| Description |
Transcript (95 pages) of an interview by Winston P. Erickson with Van C. Sorensen on August 17, 2001. This is from tape numbers 288 and 289 in the "Saving the Legacy Oral History Project |
| Collection Number and Name |
Accn2070, Saving the Legacy oral history project, 2001-2010 |
| Abstract |
Van Sorensen (b. 1922) recalls his childhood on a cattle ranch in Utah, working on the construction of the Topaz Japanese Relocation camp, and joining the U.S. Marines in December 1943. After training as a gunner and being assigned to a flight crew, Sorensen was assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations. He talks at length about his combat experiences. He also talks about returning to civilian life and suffering from what would come to be known as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. 95 pages. |
| Type |
Text |
| Genre |
oral histories (literary works) |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Extent |
95 pages |
| Language |
eng |
| Rights |
 |
| Scanning Technician |
Mazi Rakhsha |
| Conversion Specifications |
Original scanned with Kirtas 2400 and saved as 400 ppi uncompressed TIFF. PDF generated by Adobe Acrobat Pro X for CONTENTdm display |
| ARK |
ark:/87278/s6767djj |
| Topic |
Personal narratives--American; Veterans; World War (1939-1945); Military operations, Aerial--American |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1021118 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767djj |
| Title |
Page 34 |
| Format |
application/pdf |
| Setname |
uum_slohp |
| ID |
1021054 |
| OCR Text |
Show VA instructor and I said, ' ir these are too big for me. And he looked at me for a minute and he said 'The hell they are. And I said, "Yep." u u tl71h 2001 He said, "Well, I'll tell you. By the time I get done with you you'll either grow to fit them or you won't need any." And then he said something about' shut up and get in line" so I didn't have time to put a belt on, I didn't have anything, so I buttoned the top button of the trousers up in the top button hole of the jacket. Rolled the sleeves up, rolled the legs up, and I looked terrible. And I felt worse! Anyway, we marched back to the barracks that way. And it was that way all the way. But on the other hand they're good at what they do. They really know what the need men to do. We spent five weeks in drill instructions, combat instructions of all kinds. Our training was watching very graphic films teaching us to hate "the Japs." I remember one day, he said, or he just called and said, "Everybody fall out full battle gear. Packs, helmets, rifles, the whole deal." As soon as we got lined up, he called the role and we took off running. And they ran us down to where the ocean is, in the sand, and of course it wasn't very long until everybody was out of breath. But you kept running, kept running, until finally one man just passed out. So he fell into the guys ahead of him, and then the others fell over on top of him and it was a mess. So we were all trying to get things gathered up and help the guy get back up that was down - I mean he was out. And that drill instructor come over there 32 |
| Reference URL |
https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6767djj/1021054 |
